Inaugural Buffett Scholars end year with symposium

09 May 2017     By Duane Retzlaff | Buffett Early Childhood Institute

The inaugural class of the Buffett Institute Graduate Scholars program presented its research at a symposium last week in Omaha. The 2016-17 Buffett Scholars, University of Nebraska doctoral students Jon Cavanaugh (University of Nebraska-Omaha), Abbey Gregg (University of Nebraska Medical Center), and Amanda Moen (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), along with their faculty mentors, shared their findings and described the implications for the early childhood field.

Amanda Moen, of Frisco, Texas, is a student in the Department of Educational Psychology and the Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families and Schools (CYFS), both housed in the College of Education and Human Sciences. Moen's project will contribute a valid and psychometrically sound measure for assessing and supporting family-school partnerships to the field. Her faculty mentor is Susan Sheridan, director of CYFS and George Holmes university professor at Nebraska.

The Buffett Scholars program awards one- or two-year fellowships worth up to $25,000 annually to a maximum of four doctoral students. The overriding goal of the program, which was launched last year, is to increase the diversity and skills of young scholars conducting research about children from birth through age 8 and their families. The 2017-18 Buffett Scholars awards will be announced next month. Learn more about the program: http://bit.ly/2mJ7c4A